Ahli United Bank Reports 35 Mln Dlrs Profit in First Nine Months

Published October 28th, 2000 - 03:00 GMT

Ahli United Bank announced Saturday post-tax profits of 35.2 million dollars for the first nine months of its inaugural year after the merger of Bahra

Ahli United Bank announced Saturday post-tax profits of 35.2 million dollars for the first nine months of its inaugural year after the merger of Bahrain's Al-Ahli Commercial Bank and the London-based United Bank of Kuwait.

Profits were up 38 percent on 1999 on figures based on combined results of the two banks, a statement said.

Mohammad Jalal, chairman of the new bank, said: "The banking industry has witnessed volatile and difficult conditions ... AUB's earnings has continued to increase and costs remain firmly under control despite the bank incurring additonal expenses due to the merger process."

Total income to September 30 was 106.7 million dollars from 99 million dollars in 1999, total expenses 49.9 million dollars, down from 55.5 million. Total asset provisions increased slightly to 12.9 million dollars.

The offshore banking unit, registered in Bahrain, the Gulf's banking hub, represents the combination of the businesses effective from January 1 with shares listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange since August.

The consolidated results represent the operations of the two wholly-owned subsidiaries trading as separate legal entities.

UBK was created in 1966 with offices in London and New York, and its assets by mid-1999 amounted to 2.57 billion dollars. The Kuwaiti government had a 30 percent stake in UBK through its pension fund.

Al-Ahli was founded in 1977 and had assets at the end of 1998 of 816 million dollars -- MANAMA (AFP)